Chris Kelly: A clarion call to arms

This is bad news for people who profit by pretending to defend Christian traditions while violating central tenets of the faith and fleecing true believers.

People like Sarah Palin, who somehow remains an international figure although her sole achievements are quitting halfway through her first term as Alaska governor and transforming Sen. John McCain from war hero to Mr. Magoo.

Mrs. Palin has a book out called, "Good Tidings and Great Joy: Protecting the Heart of Christmas." The title suggests a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, but the text is actually more suited to Festivus, the "Seinfeld" holiday that includes a ritual airing of grievances.

Christmas is a convenient vehicle for Mrs. Palin to lament her phony martyrdom and push the politics of her cynical masters. She feels persecuted, never mind the millions of dollars she's made playing Joan Rivers of Arc. Among the many barbs in the book is a crack about the inept rollout of the Affordable Care Act. A virgin birth is the mother of all pre-existing conditions, but what does Obamacare have to do with Christmas?

Ask Mrs. Palin, who recently apologized for criticizing Pope Francis, who sent conservatives into conniption with the 84-page mission statement for his papacy. In "Evangelii Gaudium (The Gospel of Joy)," Pope Francis writes forcefully about the yawning gap between rich and poor worldwide and calls upon the faithful to act:

"How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving? This is a case of inequality. Today, everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless. As a consequence, masses of people find themselves excluded and marginalized: Without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape â¦

"To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people's pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else's responsibility and not our own."

Strong stuff. I'm not a Catholic, but as a Christian, I can't recall a more inspiring testament penned in my lifetime. Every thinking, feeling person, regardless of faith or creed, should read it: http://bit.ly/18B5RDK

Unthinking, unfeeling people predictably pounced on the pope. Rush Limbaugh, the pontiff of pugnacity, called the mission statement "pure Marxism."

"It's sad, because this pope makes it very clear he doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to capitalism and socialism and so forth," Rush said. "But regardless, what this is, somebody has either written this for him or gotten to him â¦"

Rush is right. Somebody has gotten to Pope Francis. Somebody named Jesus Christ. The Jesus of Scripture, not the Trickle-Down Jesus of Aw-Shucks Hucksters and Wall Street banksters selling the "Gospel of Prosperity."

Jesus has been co-opted by the very powers he sought to supplant. In their version of the Gospel, the Good Samaritan tells the roadside victim to help himself. The poor, sick and elderly are left to fend for themselves. Black Friday is held holier than Good Friday.

Trickle-Down Christians are sore at Pope Francis because he has dared to point out that much of what ails the world today is analogous to the world Jesus walked. The power and prosperity of the planet is hoarded by a tiny percentage of the population while billions go hungry, sick and unheard.

The Jesus of Scripture challenged us to look critically at ourselves, to peer into the dark corners of our hearts and minds and hold ourselves accountable for our thoughts and actions. He challenged us to see what is and say what should be, to speak truth to power, no matter the consequences.

In sacrificing himself, Jesus was not handing humanity a get-out-of-jail-free card. He was setting an example that Pope Francis boldly calls all Christians to honor.

Anyone can pretend to protect the heart of Christmas. Pope Francis is doing it.

CHRIS KELLY, the Times-Tribune columnist, thanks Pope Francis for saying what is, and what should be. Contact the writer: kellysworld@timesshamrock.com, @cjkink on Twitter

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